It took two quarters for the Heat, the leaders in the Eastern Conference, to demonstrate just how much they’ve separated themselves from the Sixers, who are vying for a first-round playoff pairing with Miami. Unfortunately for the Sixers, they had to play four quarters before this one went final, with Miami going away handily, 114-90, for its 10th straight victory.

The Heat’s LeBron James had a triple-double, with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade shot 14-for-18 for 33 points to lead the way. Jrue Holiday and Nick Young paced the Sixers with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

“That team, when they go to LeBron as a four, is impossible to guard,” Collins said. “You can’t guard them. They have a big rolling, setting screens, and they have 3-point shooters spreading you out. They’ve got Wade isolated in the post. They are so good when they’ve got their smaller unit out there. I looked at our coaches and I said, ‘What do you take away from them?’”

Here’s how the game opened: Evan Turner guarding James, Young assigned to Wade, and Spencer Hawes trying to mark Chris Bosh.

Sounds ominous, right? Somehow, the Sixers (22-31) were able to get out in front early and stay there — for the first nine minutes. Mario Chalmers hit a 3-pointer with 3:05 to go to give Miami (39-14) a 22-20 edge, and the lead for good.

Once they took control, the Heat’s defense showed its mettle.

Waving their arms, constantly running, disrupting plays, jumping into passing lanes, the Heat’s ridiculously active defense flustered the Sixers. They made live-ball turnovers. They missed looks from decent spots on the floor. And the Heat forced the Sixers into attempts at the end of the shot clock, which usually aren’t high-percentage shots.

On offense, the Heat shot a season-best 58 percent.

“They hit shots, you know?” Turner said.

Miami outscored the Sixers, 18-0, on fastbreak points.

“To get fastbreaks, you have to be an instinctive runner. And we have one, and he’s not playing,” Collins said, of the injured Thaddeus Young. “Our guys don’t instinctively run. We jog. And weren’t one to change into the floor quickly and, as a result, we don’t get those easy scores.”

Excluding fastbreaks, the Sixers got themselves into a jump-shooting contest with the Heat and their three-time MVP. Not a good idea. The Sixers aren’t good enough to beat the far-too-talented Heat by continuing to hit jump shots.

Miami started the third quarter with a nine-point lead and ballooned that into double-digit territory by tearing off buckets. The Heat made seven of their first 11 in the second half, including five in a row at one stretch. That 12-2 stretch basically ended the game.

It wasn’t without some acrobatics from James, however. The third quarter belonged to him.

On successive possessions, James turned a capacity crowd at Wells Fargo Center into a Miami supporters’ section. At the top of the key, James spun away from Turner and toward the rim for a finger-roll layup. Next time down, he fed Norris Cole an outlet pass, then got it back for a two-handed, alley-oop slam.

“He’s going to do what he’s going to do,” Turner said. “I thought I stayed in front of him pretty well. He got transition buckets. I didn’t run tired or anything. He’s still going to have an all-around game. You can’t stop what he does in regard to rebounds and assists. You try to make it difficult. He got points down in, on switches and stuff, but I don’t worry about anybody.

Scoring wasn’t all James did. Earlier in the third, he was in the sharing mood. James drove the lane and dished to Bosh for a dunk, then to Ray Allen for a corner 3-pointer.

James called it a night with 10 minutes to play, heading to the bench after dribbling right, then left, then right, to shake Holiday and bank in a shot two steps off the baseline.

“They’re big-time good,” Collins said of the Heat. “They’re poised to make another run.”